Lions in the Garden
by Sheila Wolfe
Summary: The Lion's Den opens across the street from Altean Gardens. Lance is convinced the new shop is trying to steal their customers. And it has nothing to do with the oblivious cute boy working there. (Witch Au!)
1. Chapter 1

1

The weather was humid and gray, a constant drizzle of rain falling outside with no end in sight. Hunk opened up a few of the windows to let in the misty breeze, watering the tulips and orchids on the table before moving on.

Pidge was perched on the counter, fiddling with the computer. Her frown deepened as she tapped the mouse again.

"Still giving you problems?" Hunk asked, tugging a few dead leaves off a rose bush before checking the soil.

Pidge glared at him over her glasses. "I keep telling you not to let Coran use the computer. Every time he clicks on anything, BOOM! Virus."

"Welcome to our world." Hunk tucked a crystal next to some wilting snapdragons before adding water. "It's been running slow all week and keeps messing up payments. It was taking so long yesterday, I thought this lady was going to throw something at me. Then it messed up the supply list and scheduled the delivery a week late. Not to mention, half of the plants have been wilting and I can't figure out why! Worst day ever."

"What about the time I almost burned your kitchen down?" Pidge asked, tapping the keyboard a few times before groaning.

Hunk frowned. "Second worst day, then."

The door swung open, the wind chime announcing a new arrival. Hunk turned, calling a cheerful, "Welcome to Altean Gardens! How can I help– oh it's you. Nevermind."

Pidge and Hunk both rolled their eyes as Lance saunter into the store. He was grinning, clutching his woven satchel to his side while rainwater dripped from his soaked form.

"I am way too pumped for your negativity! It's raining!" he cheered, flinging water across the room with each movement.

"We see that," Pidge answered flatly before turning back to the computer.

"You're also late," Hunk added, glancing at the clock. "We're you supposed to come in early to help with pruning?"

Lance's smile dropped as his eyes widened. "I thought that wasn't till Wednesday!"

Pidge snorted. "It is Wednesday."

"What? Seriously!?" The others nodded slowly. "Quiznack! I'm so sorry, Hunk. I've been busy with prepping for a ritual and lost track of the days."

Hunk smiled. "No worries, man. I did half of the greenhouse. Just take care of the other half and I'll watch the front."

Lance's guilty frown melted into a blinding smile as he reached to throw his arms around Hunk. "You're the best! We don't deserve how perfect you are, Hunk!"

"Ah, no! No hugs! Go dry off first!" Hunk shrieked, dodging out of reach and running into the back room. "And you better mop up the floor before someone slips!"

"Fine! You can't run from my hugs forever!" Lance plopped his dripping bag on the counter as he reached underneath for a towel. Pidge eyed the forming puddle, scooting herself and the computer out of reach as Lance wrung out his shirt and dried his hair.

"So does this ritual have anything to do with you coming in like a half drowned cat?"

"First of all, rude," Lance sniffed, tossing the towel at Pidge's head. A hanging ivy vine snatched it out of the air, tossing it in the backroom before dangling innocently again. "Secondly, yes it does. There's a full moon coming up and I want to take a trip to the beach. I'm almost out of rainwater, though, so I had to get all my bottles set up on the roof."

"Right," Pidge nodded, eyes still glued to the computer screen. "And you couldn't just set up some bottles here?"

"What do you think's in the bag?" Lance asked, nudging the bag. A tinkle of glass rattled from inside. He set it on a second towel to dry and went to the closet to dig out the mop. "I'm going to add a few things to these, though. Bit of rose here, some lavender there, stuff like that. It might be useful to bring."

"Is that all?"

Lance frowned, pausing in his clean up. "Well I have some crystals from Hunk, some dried herbs, and I'm going to get some more sea water and shells from Plaxum while I'm there…"

"No, I meant did you need anything else for the ritual? Or in general?" Pidge said, setting the computer aside as it rebooted.

"Uhh well I don't know. Why? Did you get some new stuff?"

Pidge's answering grin made him nervous. "Not exactly. There's a new shop opening up nearby and I can get a good deal if you need something."

The mop clattered to the ground as Lance rushed back over to the counter. "What? A new shop? Where? Is it across town? What's it called? What did you do to blackmail them already?"

Pidge smacked Lance's arm and he shut his mouth against the tide of questions.

"Yes new shop. It's called the Lion's Den. I'm not telling you anything about my blackmailing. And it's across the street."

"Like down Olkarion? Is it over by Daibazaal Street? You know I don't like that side of town–"

"No Lance," Pidge interrupted, grabbing him by his still damp shirt and dragging him to the store window. "It's literally across the street."

She pointed to the building opposite of Altean Garden. It was a red brick structure, old but sturdy, squeezed between two other shops. One side had enough space for a fire escape to lead from the third story to the narrow alley below.

Lance laughed, leaning heavily on Pidge. "What?! Slav finally got someone to buy that dump?"

Pidge ducked out from under him, smirking at the following squawk as Lance nearly toppled over a display of herbs and spices. "They're planning on renovating the place."

Lance threw her a dirty look as he marched back over to pick up the fallen mop. "This place could use a makeover. Maybe we can hire them here instead of dealing with that lost cause."

"That's Allura's decision, not mine," Pidge answered, turning her attention back to the computer. "And you better be nice when they get here or you'll ruin our best chance of getting discounts."

"Who said I was planning on shopping there anyways?" Lance huffed.

"Because you're too impatient to wait for anything online."

"Well excuse me for not wanting to wait a week when I need something. And I sure as hell not going to pay thirty dollars for same day shipping," Lance said, pointing the end of the mop at Pidge. "It's highway robbery, I tell you."

Pidge dodged the spray of water flung her way. "Yeah sure or you can just plan ahead and wait a week like the rest of us. Speaking of; HUNK THE COMPUTER'S FIXED!"

"Thank you!" Hunk's disembodied voice floated from the backroom as Pidge started tossing things into her backpack.

"And now I have to catch Matt before his shift is over. I don't like tempting pneumonia unlike _some people_!"

"You should try it sometime!" Lance called as she jogged out the door. "It might wash away some of your salty attitude!"

One of the hanging vines hovered over and pushed the door open enough for a hand to reach back in, flip him off, then disappear. Lance just laughed, turning his attention back to the mop to clean up the rest of his mess.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Three days later, Lance was replanting a row of marigolds when the door chimed.

"Welcome to Altean Gardens! How can I help you?" Hunk called from the counter. The tap of shoes on tile passed down the other aisle. Lance shrugged and turned back to the flowers.

"I was wondering if you had any of these," a tenor tone asked, the rustle of paper following the question. Lance perked up at the voice. He brushed the dirt off his hands and sprung to his feet, peeking over the aisle of plants to see the front counter.

Hunk was reading over a piece of paper, nodding his head every once in a while. On the other side of the counter, Lance could barely make out a head of dark hair facing away from him.

"Yeah I think we have most of these," Hunk said after a moment. "A few we might have to special order but should be here in about a week if you're interested?"

"Yeah that would be great," the customer nodded.

"Hey Lance!" Hunk called, making Lance jump and stand up straight, his head easily seen above the plants.

"Right here!" he shouted back, the surprise strangling his voice to a higher pitch. "What's up?"

Hunk gave him a questioning look but just shook his head. "Think you can grab me some sage, rosemary, and lavender?"

Lance glanced from Hunk to the customer, now looking at him curiously, too. He gasped, face turning red. Black hair framed his pale face while his eyes were a gray-blue that looked almost purple in the light. Even the black jeans and flannel combo were adding to his sexiness in an unfair way. Lance debated ducking back amongst the marigolds to hide but Hunk's awkward cough saved him from staring much longer.

"Lance? Wanna get the plants?"

"Uh yeah no problem!" he nearly choked out, turning on his heel to rush to the back. "Sage, rosemary, and lilac, got it!"

"Lavender!" Hunk corrected as Lance made his quick escape.

Once he was safely out of sight, he covered his face and silently screamed, face burning with embarrassment.

"Cute guy walks in the shop and you stare like a creeper and make a fool of yourself. Way to go, McClain!" he muttered to himself. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed a pot of each plant and headed towards the counter, a confident smile hiding his nervous return.

"Thanks," Hunk said, ringing up the total that the cute guy paid with a card. "If something dies within a month we'll exchange it free of charge. We'll give you a call as soon as your order of yarrow and mugwort come in."

"Thank you," the customer nodded, gathering the purchased plants and heading towards the door. "Have a good day."

"You too!" Hunk called back.

Lance panicked as the cute guy made to leave without another glance in his direction. In a spurt of energy, he rushed across the store and reached the door first. Lance flashing a brilliant smile at the confused look, holding the door open with a flourish.

"You know, if you were a flower, you'd be a _damn_ -delion," he said with a wink.

The blank stare he received in return was worse than laughter. The guy only raised one dark brow slowly, inching around Lance till he was outside. Without a word, he turned and crossed the street, not even glancing back at Lance's hurt expression.

Lance let the door close with a cheerful jingle, the sting of rejection wiping the smile from his face.

Hunk whistled in sympathy. "That was rough, buddy. You alright?"

Shaking off the melancholy, Lance plastered a fake grin over his features and scoffed. "Yeah whatever, the guy obviously doesn't have good tastes. Who doesn't want a piece of this?" he asked with a shake of his hips. "Besides, he had a mullet. What kind of self-respecting citizen of society wears a mullet? In public? He should be ashamed!"

"If you say so buddy." Hunk shook his head. "I'm going to call Coran and put this order in. Let me know when you get those marigolds done."

"Will do!" Lance laughed. Once he was safely hidden behind the aisle again, his frown returned. Hurt and irritation tugged at his chest as he roughly shoved another flower into a waiting pot, muttering angrily to himself all the while.

"Stupid mullet. His eyes weren't that pretty anyways."


	3. Chapter 3

3

"Just look at him, Pidge," Lance muttered, slumped over with his chin propped on the counter. He kept glaring out the window, sighing and complaining every few minutes to gain Pidge's attention.

"No thanks, I don't have an obsession like you," she said, furiously typing out an essay on her laptop.

Lance spluttered, face burning as he shot off the counter. "I do _not_ have an obsession!"

"It you say so," Pidge shrugged, too engrossed in her paper to argue.

"It's _not_ ," Lance continued. "It's more of a…well…I don't know, competition?"

Pidge paused, throwing him a dry look over her glasses. "A competition for what exactly?"

"I don't know!" Lance crossed his arms with a pout and went back to glaring across the street. "He just thinks he's better than me and it's ticking me off."

"I highly doubt he thinks that," Pidge said. "You're just mad those lame pick-up lines didn't work. Again."

"First off, those pick-up lines are gold and have worked _plenty_ of times in the past."

"Name one time."

" _Secondly_ , he's been over there showing off for an hour!" Lance waved his arms at the window. "It's like he exists just to spite me!"

Pidge glanced past him to the view across the street. A large moving van was parked at the curb, numerous boxes being unloaded and carried into the building.

"They are literally just moving in, Lance. Don't you think you're taking one botched flirting attempt a little too personally?"

"Nope, never, he's my sworn enemy now." Lance huffed as the hot guy carried a large box off the truck, a large dog following at his heels as they disappeared inside. "He even has a dog! It's so not fair. Why is it that this guy not only starts working across the street, not only is broody and hot, not only is pretty with muscles, but also has a cute dog! And yet is a huge jerk?! And who needs that many boxes for a shop anyways?"

"They're moving in, Lance. The third floor is an apartment."

Lance paled. "He's going to live there?!"

"Afraid so, buddy."

He groaned loudly, throwing himself back onto the counter. "This has to be some kind of curse or something. Pidge, help me look up hex lifting rituals."

"Will you stop being dramatic for five minutes?" Pidge sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and taking a deep breath. "Did you think that maybe you should just try talking to the guy about what happened?"

Lance sniffed. "He doesn't deserve the courtesy."

"Seriously? You'd rather declare him your enemy and complain about how hot he is instead of just trying to make friends with him?"

"I tried to be nice. He doesn't deserve a second chance."

Pidge glanced over Lance's shoulder and stifled a grin. "So you absolutely refuse to talk to the hot guy even if he tries to talk to you first?" she asked, smiling innocently at Lance's suspicious glare.

"Absolutely." Lance narrowed his eyes. "What are you up to, gremlin?"

"Oh nothing," Pidge smiled sharply. "Just lamenting how unfortunate the timing is. You have a customer, by the way."

The door chimed and Lance turned to see hot guy enter the store, sleeveless shirt showing off sweaty muscles that Lance immediately had to look away from.

"Hey, Keith," Pidge greeted, making Lance snap his gaze up.

"Hey Pidge. What're you doing here?" the hot guy asked, crossing over to the counter.

"Hanging out till Matt picks me up. I like the vibe here," she answered, nodding to an ivy vine that waved in his direction.

The hot guy, Keith, just nodded. "Yeah I get it."

"So what can Lance here do for you?" Pidge said, giving Lance a smack on the shoulder to get him talking.

He shot her a traitorous glare. "You two know each other?" he asked Pidge, giving Keith a side glance with the question.

"Yep," Pidge said, smiling as she turned back to her computer. "Matt's friends with Keith's older brother. Who do you think recommended the building to them?"

"Traitor," Lance muttered, turning reluctantly back to Keith. "So what do you want?"

Keith frowned. "I, uh, had a pick up? The other guy said the yarrow and mugwort came in yesterday?"

"Right. They should be in the back." Lance stomped off to fetch the plants, muttering to himself all the while. When he came back, Pidge and Keith were chatting like old friends.

"We got most of the boxes for the upstairs but we still have to get the shelves organized before we bring the shop stuff in."

"Matt and I should be able to help if he's not working."

"Thanks. Shiro would never ask but we'd definitely appreciate the help."

"No problem."

" _One yarrow and mugwort_!" Lance shouted, plopping the plants onto the counter. "Let me ring you up so you can be on your way!"

Keith's frown from earlier returned.

"So what exactly are you planning on using these plants for?" Lance asked innocently, handing Keith his receipt once the payment went through.

"Decoration, mostly. Some we can dry for herbs or add to incense and teas," Keith shrugged, "Seemed like something the shop needed."

Lance hummed in disbelief. "Most people would just come _here_ if they need that kind of stuff."

The frown sharpened to a scowl. "Look, buddy, do you have a problem with me or something?"

"I don't know, do I? You were the one being a jerk last week," Lance shot back.

Keith's irritation shifted to confusion. "Last week?"

"You don't even remember? Unbelievable! I should have known hitting on your stupid mullet wouldn't work."

Keith's face turned red, mouth opening and closing without a sound. Finally, he grabbed his plants and spluttered out, "It's not a mullet! My hair's just long!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Lance said, watching as Keith stomped out of the store and back across the street. His humor was short lived as Pidge shoved past him.

"That could have gone better."

"What? Did you see his face? He had no idea about last week!"

Pidge rolled her eyes, shoving her laptop in her backpack. "Exactly. He didn't know you were hitting on him and instead of being nice and maybe trying again, you insulted his hair and made him leave."

Lance floundered for a moment. "But you heard! They keep buying plants to steal our customers! What if they put us out of business or something?"

"It's a _magic_ shop, Lance," Pidge reminded him. "Most people go to buy magic items _including_ herbs. You run a plant shop that mostly deals with little old ladies that took up gardening as a hobby. They aren't interested in stealing your customers. With all the magic stuff you do, you'll probably end up being one of their customers, too."

"Nope, never going to happen." Lance shook his head till he was dizzy. "From this day on, I'm rivals with Keith and I refuse to buy anything from their shop. My loyalty is to Altean Gardens alone."

"Yeah sure okay," Pidge scoffed, pinning him with a serious look. "Ten bucks says you break down in the next two weeks and end up shopping there."

"Please, I have all the supplies I need. You're on, gremlin."

"Sweet, that's ten bucks in my pocket." Before Lance could argue, Pidge's phone beeped. "That's Matt. He wants to say hi to Shiro so I'm meeting him at the shop."

"Wait, what about our deal? I win the ten bucks if you go!"

"Nope I specifically said _you_ would break down. I never declared them my _rival_ so I'm free to shop there whenever I want."

"You–you–" Lance groaned, pointing at Pidge as she skipped out of the shop. "You're evil. An evil, evil little witch!"

"Evil or not, I get all the magical stuff I need now!"

"Evil!" An ivy vine suddenly smacked him in the face, Pidge's laugh lost in the chimes as the door closed.


End file.
